Leo stood waiting for Arthur's response, the silence between them stretching longer than it should have. Arthur was frozen in place, unmoving for nearly a full minute.

"Arthur, we need to act. Now," Leo finally said, his voice firm but calm.

Before Arthur could speak, a gust of wind swept through the clearing, and Selina descended from the sky. She had felt the tension from her own ship and came to investigate.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking between the two men.

"I have to leave," Arthur said, his voice low but resolute.

"Is it urgent?"

Arthur nodded once.

Selina didn't ask further. She pulled out a teleportation scroll and handed it to him. "This will take you back to Arestin. Use it."

Arthur took it, giving her a brief nod of gratitude. Then he turned to Laid. "I'll leave the Avalon Pirates in your hands, my friend."

Laid nodded back, his face serious, though the sorrow was hard to hide. Around them, the crew had started to gather, sensing something important. Confusion and sadness painted their faces in varying degrees, but no one said a word.

Arthur gave them all a glance, but he didn't speak. Pirates weren't the sentimental type. They understood departures came without goodbyes.

He walked toward the ship's edge and opened the scroll.

Leo smiled at the crew, his friends now. "See you later, guys."

He moved to stand beside Arthur just as a small commotion broke out behind them. Briva pushed her way through the crowd and stomped up.

"Hey!" she snapped. "I didn't leave my village just to get left behind. I'm coming with you."

"It's dangerous," Arthur replied.

"And you have a duty to protect me, remember?" she shot back. "Also, you're not my father. You can't stop me."

She took her place at their side. Arthur and Leo exchanged glances, sighed in sync, then accepted her silent determination.

Arthur activated the scroll. A pillar of blue light enveloped the three of them, rising into the sky like a beacon. Just before vanishing, Arthur looked over his shoulder at Selina.

"I leave the oceans in your hands for now."

Selina gave a single nod, and then they were gone.

The light faded as they reappeared inside a dim, modest house. Without hesitation, Arthur burst through the door, the others hot on his heels. They sprinted through the streets of Arestin, their forms blurring as they soared over rooftops, each using their unique powers to move at impossible speed.

Within a minute, they reached their destination: the grandest mansion in the city, home to its wealthiest merchant.

As they approached, guards stepped forward, blocking the path with crossed halberds.

"Sir, you can't just… "

But the words cut short. Both guards froze, eyes dull and vacant, minds no longer their own.

Arthur looked to Leo.

"Yes," Leo confirmed. "It's mind control. Let's go."

Before Arthur could enter, the mansion doors creaked open. Victor stepped out, his presence calm but curious.

"Could I ask you not to do that to my guards?" he said, folding his arms.

Arthur didn't stop. "Victor, we need a teleportation route to Aetherra. I know you have a way."

Victor paused at the seriousness in Arthur's voice. He didn't press the matter.

"There's a house just outside the estate, with my mark." He said. "I left a circle of teleportation there. It'll take you to a village outside Aetherra. You'll have to cover the rest of the distance yourself."

He tossed a coin-like token toward Arthur.

"Show this to my man, they'll give you anything you need."

Arthur caught it mid-air and nodded. "Thank you."

Then he turned and sprinted off again, Briva following close behind.

Leo lingered for just a second longer. "Sorry about the mind control," he said sheepishly.

"Leo, Come on." Arthur said from behind.

Victor raised a brow. "No problem... Mr. Leo," he said with a sly grin, the name laced with mocking amusement.

Sweat beaded on Leo's forehead. His smile turned awkward. He gave a short bow, then turned and bolted after his companions.

Floating beside Arthur, Briva turned to Leo. Her fairy-like wings shimmered with movement. "Who's Leo?" she asked, tilting her head.

Leo caught up to her on his own platform of glowing enchantment.

"It's my real name," he said, matter-of-fact.

Briva's eyes widened. "What?! Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I couldn't," Leo replied, his voice quiet but firm.

Briva narrowed her eyes, a flicker of frustration crossing her face. "That's not a good enough reason."

"I'll explain later," he said, avoiding her gaze.

The tension between them lingered for a moment, but there was no time to dwell on it. Soon, they arrived at the house with Victor's merchant mark. Two guards stood at the entrance, but when Arthur showed them the coin, they nodded without question and led them inside.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

The teleportation circle waited for them in a quiet, stone-walled room. Without hesitation, the three stepped onto the glowing platform. A hum of magic filled the air, and within moments, their figures vanished in a flash of blue light.

...

Elna stood just outside the Holy Cathedral, surrounded by a group of armored paladins. Together, they were guiding crowds of citizens toward the smaller churches scattered across the city, ten in total, each staffed with bishops ranging from B to A-minus rank.

It had been only a month since Elna had earned her own rank, now officially a B-rank Illusionist. Through rigorous training and self-discovery, she had learned that daggers suited her best in combat. As a result, she had chosen Assassin and Shadow as her secondary and tertiary paths, sharpening her focus on agility and deception.

Above her, the skies swirled with strange energies, but the Holy Cathedral's defensive wards cloaked the chaos of the battle raging above. That was by design. Battles between S-rankers weren't just dangerous, they were overwhelming. For ordinary people, or even mid-rankers, witnessing such a clash could break their minds or shatter their spirits.

All she could see from there were the occasional bursts of golden or black light, like distant thunderclouds cracking open with explosions.

"This way!" Elna called, guiding a frightened couple toward one of the side alleys leading to a nearby church.

As she turned back toward the square, her eyes locked onto an old figure standing completely still, Bishop Michael Bethune. He was staring at the sky with a deep frown, unmoving even as people rushed past him.

Elna jogged toward him. "Bishop Bethune, is something wrong?"

The bishop didn't answer at first. His eyes remained fixed on a single point in the sky. "This place is about to become a battlefield," he finally said, his voice grim. "You must leave now. Get as far away as you can."

Before Elna could speak, a figure materialized in the air where Bethune was staring. He floated above the street like a phantom descending from the heavens.

Elna's eyes widened.

It was, Oryu. The one responsible for the tragedies, the pain, the scars, her scars. Her fingers tensed around her dagger's hilt.

"Bishop Bethune," Oryu greeted, voice light and mocking. "It's been too long."

"I can't say the same, Oryu," the bishop replied coldly.

Oryu tilted his head, feigning hurt. "Is that how you welcome an old friend?"

"There's no friendship left to welcome."

Elna's heart pounded with fury. This man had done more than just betray the church, he had ripped lives apart. Her rage must have shown on her face, because Oryu turned to look at her and smiled thinly.

"Oh," he said. "You must be the little elven girl who was meant to die."

He sighed, almost theatrically. "If that boy of yours hadn't made such a mess of my plans, you wouldn't have had to suffer this much."

"Shut your mouth," Elna snapped, stepping forward and drawing her dagger with a sharp flick.

Bethune held up a hand. "Elna, leave. Contact the other bishops. This is too much for you right now. I may not be able to stop him on my own."

"But… !"

"Go!" he ordered, eyes never leaving Oryu.

Oryu laughed. "You always were the sensible one, Michael."

He raised his hand and from beneath his cloak drew a long, slender staff adorned with three polished gems, yellow, red, and blue, set in a crown of dark gold. Elna's eyes widened in recognition.

Bethune narrowed his gaze. "You kept the Faithkeeper."

"Of course I did," Oryu replied. "Why would I throw away a weapon this powerful?"

"After all this time, you still don't understand. Legendary artifacts won't make you truly strong."

Oryu smirked. "Still preaching."

He raised the staff. The yellow gem pulsed, glowing brighter until a beam of scorching light blasted toward Bethune.

Without flinching, Bethune crushed a black crystal between his fingers. A spectral church, radiant and ethereal, erupted from the ground in front of him. Its great doors swung open just as the beam struck, absorbing the attack into its divine structure. The doors closed gently behind it, leaving no trace of the blast.

Oryu sighed. "I forgot how annoying your defenses were."

Bethune's voice was calm. "That's what we do. We defend."

"Always the same speeches," Oryu muttered, lifting the staff again as mana gathered around it.

Bethune didn't look back. "Run, Elna! Now!"

Elna hesitated for only a moment. Then she turned and ran. Her boots pounded the pavement, but she quickly shifted into shadow, her form melting into darkness. Her speed surged as her assassin and shadow magic kicked in. Behind her, the air thundered with magic and the clash of divine spells, but she didn't look back.

She had a mission now, warn the other bishops. Who knew what else that monster Oryu had hidden up his sleeve?

...

After Leo and the others were teleported into a small house—a quiet village near the capital of the Kingdom of Light—they swiftly rose into the air, following behind Arthur, who led them with silent urgency.

Even at their speed, the journey stretched into nearly two hours. During this time, Leo closed his eyes and began to pray to Lilith, the shadowed goddess who had guided him for a long time. Now attuned to his Domain, he had learned to split his awareness, maintaining just enough of it to remain aloft while slipping the rest into the spiritual plane.

He whispered the prayer, and darkness enveloped him once more.

He stood again in that still, endless night. Before him loomed the familiar onyx throne, carved from absence itself. The seat of Lilith. His gaze was sharp, his tone steady.

"I think it's time you told me the truth," Leo said. "Why did you create the Shadowland?"

A pause followed—long and heavy. Lilith remained silent on her throne, unmoving, a queen made of shadow and starlight. Then, at last, her voice echoed through the dark—a voice that carried both exhaustion and divinity.

"five hundred years ago, the world moved in harmony. The gods worked together in balance—until some broke faith."

Her tone deepened. The void trembled as her words fell like falling stars.

"The Goddess of Love and Betrayal. The God of Madness."

As their names were spoken, the space around Leo quaked—distorted by their mere mention.

"They aided the Prince of Man in ascending… and thus was born the so-called God of Light. That was the beginning of the Divine Rebellion. A war that nearly shattered the world. We were outmatched. The traitors tore a rift into the abyss itself."

Leo's voice came quieter. "The Hell Gate?"

Lilith answered, her voice like a wind through dead leaves. "A prison. A tomb. A sacred seal. It holds the God of War, banished for crimes no mortal minds should know."

A whisper reached Leo's ears—a murmur, foreign and low, like the memory of a scream.

He frowned.

She continued. "Looks like he has noticed. That whisper… it is his gaze. This is why I dare not speak more of him. To know his truth is to draw his attention."

Leo tensed. Even in this realm of shadow, that whisper had felt… real.

Lilith continued, her voice like falling dusk. "In time, Selvanna, Goddess of Fate, fell. Then the Goddess of Nature, and soon after… the God of Magic. All perished or were unmade. To protect the gate, I birthed the Shadowland—a sanctum woven around the seal to keep the traitor from breaching it. For if he does… everything ends."

Leo's eyes narrowed. "So you've stood alone against the remaining gods?"

"I was not always alone," she said, her voice gentler now. "Alister, the Pope, once walked in the light. But he saw the truth—the twisted face behind the false god's radiance. He turned from him and allied with me. His Domain became a wall. A beacon. A shield to block the god of light's influence from seeping into this world."

Leo couldn't hide his surprise. "The pope defied a god…"

"Yes. And that is why he aged. When the god of light chooses a new leader, he offers them a place in his celestial legion. Those who accept vanish from the mortal realm, their souls taken. Those who refuse…" her voice lowered, "begin to wither. Their divine light fades, and they are left to die like men."

One of Leo's deepest questions had finally been answered.

But another lingered. "If you created the Shadowland, why is it filled with monsters?"

A note of sorrow entered her voice now, distant and ancient. "It was meant to be a place of silence and peace, a last sanctuary against the encroaching madness. But the Betrayer and the Mad God tricked the Earth's Guardian. He was once a noble being, a protector. In desperation, he embraced the Void to stop the forces of hell… but it consumed him. He became twisted. Corrupted."

She exhaled, and even the air of that place seemed to tremble.

"I held him back. I sealed the beasts within. But I could not purify them."

"So they die when they leave the shadows, not because they enter the light…" Leo said slowly, realization dawning.

"That is correct," she affirmed.

"Wait… then what about the story of sealed magic? What was it really?"

Lilith fell silent again. Her answer was final. "That… is a tale for another time. You are close to your destination. You will find your answers—soon."

Leo took a deep breath and bowed. "I'll do all I can, my lady."

Her voice reached him one last time as his vision began to fade. "You carry more than you know, Leo Mantine. Be strong."

And then, the darkness vanished—and he returned to the skies.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.